Potters end Zigic pursuit

14 August 2008 11:17

Stoke City manager Tony Pulis has admitted defeat in his attempts to sign Serbia striker Nikola Zigic from Spanish club Valencia.
The 27-year-old struggled to make his mark at the Mestalla last season following his arrival from Racing Santander and has been linked with a number of clubs in England, with Blackburn Rovers also interested.
However, Pulis has now accepted that he will have to look elsewhere for fresh strike options.
He told Sky Sports News: "Yes. It has finished. There will be no further progress.
"We have got a lot of work to do and we are still trying to get players in.
"We are hoping to bring a couple more in before Saturday. Then we have a couple of weeks to move people in and one or two people will leave as well."
Pulis had earlier been cautious about the chances of bringing Zigic to the Britannia Stadium, saying: "He is a player with great pedigree and has an outstanding goalscoring record, but he isn't the only player we are looking at.
"We are working tirelessly trying to get players in and there are quite a few irons in the fire at the moment, but we will not sign someone for the sake of it.
"We have to make sure we get the right players in, who have the right quality and the right attitude."